Chinese language - ticket to a lucrative career

With the continuous elevation of China’s international position and its robust economic growth, the demand for Chinese language has been growing enormously worldwide. Check out available courses for this language.

In India, too, more and more people have been showing a keen interest in learning the language to broaden their professional skills. “The reason for the rising popularity of Chinese language is a lucrative job market. Jobs opportunities are available in MNCs, Chinese companies operating in India, the tourism and hospitality sector and in SMEs,” says professor Sreemati Chakrabarti, Department of East Asia studies, Delhi University.

Delhi University offers two courses in Chinese language — (a) full-time intensive course and post-intensive course in the Department of East Asia Studies and (b) part-time courses taught in Daulat Ram College and Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College. An applicant with a three-year graduation degree from a recognised university with 45% marks is eligible for the full time intensive course.

For the post-intensive course, applicants should have passed the intensive course or done a basic course in Chinese. An entrance test is mandatory for both categories. Part-time courses are held in the afternoons and there is no entrance test. The department charges a fee `4,000 approximately per year and colleges charge a tuition fee of `15,000 per year. The Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been offering a five-year integrated course in Chinese language and literature, which leads to a master’s degree.

However, after successful completion of six semesters, students have the option to exit with a bachelor’s degree. Anyone passing Class 12 with 45% marks is eligible to write the national level entrance exam. There is also a second year entry if one has elementary knowledge of Chinese, but one has to clear an entrance exam and viva. The Centre also offers a two-year MPhil and three-year PhD programme in Chinese.

The fee is a highly subsidised `1,000 for a year. Discussing the career prospects of those with a degree in the Chinese language, professor BR Deepak, Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, says, “At present, our students have been absorbed by various multinational companies such as Oracle, HCL, American Express, TCS, Infosys, Huawei, ZTE and many others. Besides academic institutions, government offices such as ministry of defence and ministry of home affairs are also recruiting Chinese experts for research posts.

The tourism sector, especially Taiwan, mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore, has also absorbed many students. Rise in business trade between India and China is another reason for the rush to learn Chinese. “The trade volume between India and China is booming. It touched US$66 billion at the close of 2013. So anyone who is interested in international trade has to learn Chinese,” adds Deepak.

The chinese language Institute offers an intensive crash course in Chinese: Cracking Chinese (Basic I). The course has been designed to ensure that a student who completes this module is equipped with thorough knowledge of pronunciation, grammar, construction of sentences and basic spoken Chinese.

“We call it survival Chinese course. It is exclusively for businessmen and company executives who have no time to go to the university and get a degree in Chinese language. The course consists of 40 teaching hours spread out over eight weeks or weekends,” says Purnima.

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